A recent report indicates that digital ad fatigue is on the rise in India, with 70% of Indian consumers now scrolling past digital advertisements. This growing trend highlights a significant challenge for marketers in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. India now ranks third globally in ad fatigue, following the US and Australia.
The Trade Desk's report, titled 'The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel', reveals that the issue isn't necessarily the sheer volume of ads, but rather their failure to resonate with consumers and create meaningful connections. Indian users are spending approximately nine hours daily across more than five media channels, including OTT, connected TV (CTV), mobile, display, audio, and gaming. However, most ad campaigns are running on fewer than three platforms, often lacking coordination. This results in the same ads being repeatedly displayed on a single channel, while others remain underutilized or poorly timed.
Tejinder Gill, Managing Director of The Trade Desk India, stated that this isn't a media saturation problem but a planning problem. According to Gill, marketers are still largely executing multi-channel campaigns in silos. He emphasizes that an omnichannel strategy requires precision, sequencing, and connection, not just presence across different media.
Several factors contribute to this increasing ad fatigue. The sheer volume of ads, especially in digital formats, has transformed marketing into an incessant cacophony. Consumers are bombarded with marketing messages on digital platforms, billboards, and social media feeds daily. This constant exposure leads to desensitization, where users scroll past ads without a second thought. Furthermore, many find digital ads intrusive and overwhelming, interfering with their content consumption. Unskippable video ads and cluttered inboxes contribute to user frustration. Repetitive ad campaigns lead to diminishing returns, and when ads become background noise, consumers disengage, resulting in lower click-through and conversion rates.
The Indian advertising industry has surpassed ₹1 lakh crore, with digital media capturing nearly 46% of the ad spend in fiscal year 2025. Social media, particularly short-form videos, is driving digital growth, while traditional media's share is shrinking due to changing consumer habits and platform preferences. This trend is expected to continue, with digital ad spending predicted to grow by 9–11% this year, while traditional media stagnates. FMCG companies now allocate 55–60% of their ad budgets to digital channels, up from 30% in fiscal year 2020. Similarly, automobile companies have increased their digital ad spends to 35–40% in fiscal year 2025, compared to 15–20% in fiscal year 2020.
To combat ad fatigue, marketers need to adopt new strategies. These include refreshing ad creatives regularly, segmenting and rotating audiences, and leveraging dynamic creative optimization. Diversifying advertising platforms, using frequency caps, and monitoring campaign performance in real-time are also crucial. Brands are experimenting with immersive formats like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to stand out in a crowded market and creating regional and vernacular content to achieve deeper resonance with India's diverse audiences. Moreover, focusing on authentic collaborations with micro- and macro-influencers is becoming a staple of brand strategy. Brands should prioritize consistency in messaging across all channels and create campaigns that educate, entertain, and inspire. Social media should be used for dynamic conversations rather than one-way broadcasts. Personalized ads in premium environments can yield better performance and stronger returns.
Ultimately, by understanding the causes and implementing proactive strategies, marketers can overcome ad fatigue and create more engaging and effective campaigns. The key is to think less about ads and more about engagement, connecting meaningfully with audiences to thrive in the evolving digital world.
